CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois has become the 20th state to legalize medical marijuana with some of the strictest standards in the nation. But the proposal will take many months to set into motion because of complex rules and regulations. Here's a closer look at the details:

Q: When will medical marijuana be available for purchase in Illinois?

A: No one knows for sure, but estimates are several months to more than a year after the law takes effect Jan. 1. That's because three separate state agencies — the departments of Public Health, Agriculture and Financial and Professional Regulation — must draft rules for patients, growers and dispensaries. Then the rules must be approved by a legislative committee. Next comes issuing permits and setting up the 22 so-called cultivation centers where the plants will be grown. They'll be set up in each Illinois State Police district, and state authorities will review security plans. The marijuana will be sold in up to 60 dispensaries. Nineteen other states and Washington, D.C., have implemented medical marijuana laws but implementation time has varied greatly. The longest was Washington, D.C., where medical marijuana was available for purchase just last month, 15 years after voters approved. Maine took less than a year. New Jersey took about three years and still only one dispensary is open in the state.

Q: Who will be able to obtain marijuana?

A: Only seriously ill patients who have a longstanding relationship with a doctor will be able to apply for a state ID card. The new law specifically lists dozens of qualifying illnesses and diseases, including lupus, HIV, hepatitis C and multiple sclerosis. Patients will be limited to 2.5 ounces every two weeks. No one under 18 years old will be eligible.

Q: Can people be arrested for having medical marijuana?

A: Patients who are registered with the state can't be arrested or charged for using medical marijuana, if they're using it in compliance with the law. However, employers still can maintain drug policies in the workplace, meaning someone using medical marijuana could face consequences for failing a drug test.

Q: What makes Illinois' new law so tough?

A: The state will require background checks for patients, caregivers and all staff members at dispensaries and growing centers. Cultivation centers will be under 24-hour video surveillance. Illinois won't allow home-growing and there's no reciprocity with other states that allow medical marijuana.

Wednesday night’s vote in the Uruguayan chamber of deputies to approve a state-run marijuana commerce would make the South American nation the first to create legal pot markets, and that’s making United Nations anti-drug bureaucracies nervous. Both the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) issued statements Thursday fretting about the vote.

Uruguay hasn’t legalized the marijuana market yet—that will require a vote in the Uruguayan Senate this fall—but the Vienna-based UN organs aren’t waiting. Charged with enforcing the global drug prohibition regime, and its legal backbone, the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and successor treaties, the INCB and UNODC are raising the alarm about the apparent looming breach of the treaty.

“The INCB has noted with concern a draft law under consideration in Uruguay which, if adopted, would permit the sale of cannabis herb for non-medical use,” INCB head Dr. Raymond Yans said in a statement. “Such a law would be in complete contravention to the provisions of the international drug control treaties, in particular the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, to which Uruguay is a party.”

The INCB said it had always “aimed at maintaining a dialogue with the government of Uruguay” and complained that Montevideo wasn’t paying attention to it. “The Board regrets that the government of Uruguay refused to receive an INCB mission before the draft law was submitted to parliament,” Yans said.

The statement further urged Uruguayan leaders “to ensure that the country remains fully compliant with international law which limits the use of narcotic drugs, including cannabis, exclusively to medical and scientific purposes” and warned that legalization ” might have serious consequences for the health and welfare of the population and for the prevention of cannabis abuse among the youth.”

Illinois became the 20th state to legalize medical marijuana Thursday, joining Michigan as the second of Wisconsin’s neighboring states to do so.

Patients seeking treatment still face an uphill battle to make the drug legal for medicinal purposes in Wisconsin, but that’s not stopping several state Democrats from trying.

Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, and Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, are co-sponsoring a bill that Taylor said is still in the drafting phase and should be ready to introduce in the fall legislative session.

Under the bill, medicinal marijuana could be prescribed to patients with cancer, glaucoma, AIDS-HIV, post traumatic stress disorder, seizures, severe pain and nausea, and muscle spasms.

Taylor said the bill would allow patients to grow up to 10 marijuana plants and have up to 3 ounces in their possession. Patients who choose not to grow their own would be able to purchase medicinal marijuana with a doctor’s prescription at state-regulated, non-profit “compassionate care centers.”

“It would be fairly tightly controlled,” Taylor said. “Given that, I would hope some Republicans would support this.”